MOBILE, Alabama - His father was a former standout at the University of Houston and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, but it was his mother, who also played basketball, who taught him how to shoot.

He's just a freshman, but he has displayed the kind of talent and maturity of a player with more college experience.

A lot of teams were interested in signing him to a basketball scholarship, but when his academic eligibility was in question for a time, several of those schools backed away, signing other players.

For a freshman, South Alabama guard Ken "Juice'' Williams already has some interesting stories to tell. It is the hope of the Jaguars' new coaching staff that he will have a few more after his first season with the Jaguars.

In fact, when head coach Matthew Graves was hired, he felt it important to fly to Houston to speak with Williams personally about remaining with the program. As the Houston Chronicle's Player of the Year as a senior for large private schools int he area, Williams' figures to have a bright future.

"Coming out of my senior year, I had a lot of offers
from a lot of schools, but I didn't have my grades,'' Williams explained. "So a lot of schools gave my
scholarship to someone else. South Alabama, they stayed loyal to me. They said
if you come here, we're going to stand by your side the whole time. They weren't sure if I was going to qualify and when I did qualify I kept my decision of
staying with South. Then coach Graves flew in to talk to me (after he
was hired) and I just decided to stay.''

It wasn't simply a matter of agreeing to honor his commitment. Williams said he liked what eh heard from Graves.

"It was (still undecided if he would stay at South Alabama) until coach Graves came down to talk
to me,'' Williams said. "That first day we had that conversation I knew I was going to stay. It
was a good conversation.''

So far, Williams is proving he has the potential to have a big impact with the Jaguars in his first season. The 6-foot-2 guard, the son of former Houston standout Kenneth Williams, whose NBA career was halted prematurely because of a knee injury, has picked up Graves' new system well.

"He has a tremendous ability to field and score the basketball,'' Graves said. "His feel for the game is outstanding. I think he's going to be a guy who not only is able to score the ball for us, but he's going to be able to get others involved. He's got a really naturally gifted feel for how to play the game, so I'm real excited to put him in some situations where he can facilitate some offense for us.

"I think there's some heredity. He comes from some very good genes. His dad was an outstanding player for Houston back in the day and I certainly think there's some carryover to that. But at the same time, a lot of it with Ken is he works really hard and he's very focused and he has a goal of competing and playing right away and he's well on track with that.''

As a sophomore and junior at Episcopal High School in Bellaire, Texas, Williams was the leading scorer in the Houston area. He averaged 26.4 points as a sophomore and 19.6 points a game as a junior. He earned a three-star ranking from Scout. com.

Williams said he's ready to step forward and be a player his teammates can count on, even as a freshman. But he recognizes his role, too.

"I like the role. I think all the freshmen probably
like the role,'' he said. "The older guys keep motivating us, giving us confidence to be
ourselves and don't be nervous and play within our game.''

And within his abilities, which comes, in large measure, from being the youngest of six children who had basketball-playing parents. It was Williams' mother, Emma, who had Williams tossing balled up pieces of paper into a trash can in the middle of the floor when he was two years old.

"It helped a lot,'' Williams said of his father's influence. "It helped my total game, my confidence, my
attitude, my approach to the game. But I can't forget about my mom. She's the
reason I started playing basketball. She taught me everything. She taught me
how to shoot, all that stuff.''

He said he continues to hear stories often about his dad's playing career. "I probably hear his stories every day,'' Williams said. "Yesterday I heard another story. It never gets old.''

Now, those teachings are being called upon by the Jags this season. Stepping into that type of role requires some maturity.

"Through nine practices he's shown a maturity for being able to come in and be ready to work,'' said Graves. "The carryover of remembering sets and remembering our defensive scheme has been very good. But as you know, you get a few thousand fans in the stands and a couple of zebras out there running around, blowing their whistle, things may change. Right now, I'm very optimistic that he's going to be able to come in and provide us with some spark this year.''

Williams said he wants the responsibility of being counted on by his teammates, but once again he noted it is the experienced players, the returnees, who are the leaders.

"It comes from the older guys,'' he said. "Us being young guys, we
look up to the older guys. Whatever they do, like the compliments and keeping
the talking and motivation. The younger guys are going to pick up on what the
older guys do. It's all leadership and being vocal.''